I mean I always hear he is the best alive, but I don't watch or follow the "sport" nearly close enough to have ever seen quantitative evidence of this. I have seen him called Tiger many, many times, but I have never seen him be Tiger.

Was hoping Sebok would double up a couple times and make a run. But he's been eliminated along with the DonkeyBomber, Tom Schneider. Ivey still near the top with $7m. And like Mike said earlier, now he has reason to stay engaged as opposed to betting 6 figures on the All Star game tonight for something to do.

Since my last update here at the Tao of Poker, another 12 events have been completed, and the big stories just keep on coming. Here are the top seven:

1. Phil Ivey Wins His Sixth -- No, Make that Seventh -- WSOP Bracelet

Phil Ivey is the best poker player in the world. Period.

In the poker media, we're used to saying things like "arguably the best player" or "one of the best players," but I've decided to stop using qualifiers when it comes to Ivey after watching him this Series. There are a lot of young online guys who might have the potential to be as great as Ivey, but check back in 10 years to see if they can match the results of Mr. I-Don't-Want-To-Talk-To-The-Media.

Ivey had a disappointing WSOP last year after betting big on himself to win his sixth bracelet. He increased the bets on himself this year, which turned out to be a good investment. Ivey told PokerNews that he scooped all his bets after winning the second bracelet. (At least one player bought out of the bet.) The amount of money he won in side action is still up for debate, and I've heard reliable numbers ranging from $6 million to $12 million. (Remember that Ivey wasn't betting at even odds, so he didn't have to risk that much himself.) Regardless of the real number, it's clear that Ivey is the big winner of this WSOP, both in terms of dollars, prestige, and legendary status.

The entire story of Ivey winning his second bracelet of the WSOP is too long to include here, and they say a picture is worth a thousand words -- so here comes my commercial interruption. I got some kick-ass photos of Ivey, with captions that take you through the ups and downs of his day. Here's the link.

FYI, there are rumors that Ivey wants to bet that he'll win three bracelets in two years, starting in 2010. But it may be tough to find people willing to bet against him.

Speaking of three bracelets, Ivey still has more than 20 events left this year to win his eighth, which would tie Erik Seidel on the all-time list. When was the last time a player won more than two bracelets in a single WSOP? In 2002, when a young pro became a star by winning three events. His name was Phil Ivey.

I mean I always hear he is the best alive, but I don't watch or follow the "sport" nearly close enough to have ever seen quantitative evidence of this. I have seen him called Tiger many, many times, but I have never seen him be Tiger.

Guess I'm just asking what his deal is.

Well, to your point, in the poker world, quantitative evidence isn't that easy to find.

However, documented is tremendous tournament success, Peekers posted article mentions some. There is much more including winning two tournaments in a week two years ago, concluding with the high rollers tourney in Monte Carlo which was all top level pros.

He's supposedly the biggest cash game winner in recent years also, so much so that it takes a huge tournament to keep his interest, because winning a low buy in tourney would cost him money.

Then there was the unoficial largest win of all-time against Texas billionaire banker Andy Beal.

It will always be subjective to a degree, however, there isn't anyone's above board record that really comes close, and when reputable sources speak of his cash game success, I'm not sure if you could argue anyone else's case.

Great experience at the WSOP. Won a spot in event 51, 1.5 K Hold em buyin. Sold out, 2900 players. Made it through 3/4 of the field. No money tho. To make matters worse, got railed by a guy in full Gator regalia. Tried to get in Event 54 but it sold out the night before. Definitely would have won that one. Met a bunch of players who do it for a living. Very enlightening. They partner frequently. Ended up buying small stakes in a couple events. Got a little return.Pros have much contempt for Harrah's Entertainment Corp. Players flock to other places, especially Venetian and downtown for tourneys and live games. Venetian had daily tourneys, $500 buyin, 900+ players, top prizes of 85K+. The cash games there were very lively. Good vibe downtown. Nugget and Shoe had baby tourneys every day, 100 to 200 buyins with 200 to 300 players. No prizes on tourneys but did OK on cash games; won a high hand jackpot with quad 4's.All in all it was much fun, minimal losses. Sign me up for 2010.

Anyone interested in joining a sattelite league for the main event? Play second Monday of the month, about a 1250 committment over 10 months, 40-50 players, prizes every month.Money won at WSOP is split. We had a guy finish 139th in 2007, for a 60K payday.I can provide more details upon request.

The human race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children's games from the beginning, and will probably do it till the end, which is a nuisance for the few people who grow up. - G. K. Chesterton

In the couple times we've been out there for the WSOP it's been a cluster flock every time. Huge lines and registration issues despite the fact they do this as their business. This year when they turned away hundreds of players on 1D of the ME there was talk of select players (including Ivey) getting back doored and entered when other lesser known guys were shut out.

Still, all that said, there's a buzz. I miss the all nighter in watching the final table w/o card cameras. Shit, I miss listening to Sirius Satellite coverage of the wsop on freakin' radio at 3am EST. Loved that shit. Fell asleep to it nealy every night the series was on.

And you touched on the story I want to hear about. I wanna hear about who the biggest broke dicks in the room are who are always begging for a stake, who the guys staking them are, what happens when Eskimo Clark skips on a payment, all that shit. And the guy who writes the Tao of Poker blog, Paul McGuire, is writing that book and it'll be available soon.

jpd1224 wrote:Great experience at the WSOP. Won a spot in event 51, 1.5 K Hold em buyin. Sold out, 2900 players. Made it through 3/4 of the field. No money tho. To make matters worse, got railed by a guy in full Gator regalia. Tried to get in Event 54 but it sold out the night before. Definitely would have won that one. Met a bunch of players who do it for a living. Very enlightening. They partner frequently. Ended up buying small stakes in a couple events. Got a little return.Pros have much contempt for Harrah's Entertainment Corp. Players flock to other places, especially Venetian and downtown for tourneys and live games. Venetian had daily tourneys, $500 buyin, 900+ players, top prizes of 85K+. The cash games there were very lively. Good vibe downtown. Nugget and Shoe had baby tourneys every day, 100 to 200 buyins with 200 to 300 players. No prizes on tourneys but did OK on cash games; won a high hand jackpot with quad 4's.All in all it was much fun, minimal losses. Sign me up for 2010.

Anyone interested in joining a sattelite league for the main event? Play second Monday of the month, about a 1250 committment over 10 months, 40-50 players, prizes every month.Money won at WSOP is split. We had a guy finish 139th in 2007, for a 60K payday.I can provide more details upon request.